EPA holds open forum on cleaning coal ash from Dan River

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DANVILLE, Va. -- The Environmental Protection Agency held an open forum Monday to discuss removing coal ash from the Dan River near the Schoolfield Dam.

Duke Energy is focusing cleanup efforts in Danville after teams found a 2,500-ton deposit of coal ash near the Schoolfield Dam. Abreu Grogan Park will be closed while crews work to vacuum sediment out of the water and then move it to lined landfills in Virginia and North Carolina.

Representatives from several agencies including the U.S. EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Department of Health, City of Danville and U.S. Coast Guard attended the meeting to answer questions.

Dredging is expected to begin by May 1. EPA officials say cleanup should be completed by July.